At the present time, there is no device available which can duplex millimeter wave radars which operate at hundreds of watts of average power levels, not only in the 60 to 96 GHz bands, but at other microwave and submillimeter wave frequency regions as well. The present invention provides apparatus for duplexing such high average power levels, not only in the 60 to 96 GHz bands, but at other microwave and submillimeter wave frequency regions as well.
In the prior art, a duplexer utilized a pair of thyratron waveguide switches (TWS) located between a pair of short-slot hybrids as shown and described in an article entitled, "S-BAND THYRATRON WAVEGUIDE SWITCH AS A PRETRIGGERED MEGAWATT DUPLEXER," by Harry Goldie, published August, 1968 in The Microwave Journal. The present duplexer uses a common thyratron waveguide switch in combination with a colinear waveguide transmission line. The colinear waveguide transmission line includes a pair of short slot hybrids to form a conventional balanced four-port circuit configuration. The single beam technique provided by the common thyratron waveguide switch conserves drive power and reduces mechanical complexity since only one cathode and one convergence cone is required.